This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
This creamy garlic chicken skillet is made with tender seared chicken breast, and covered in a creamy, dairy-free garlic sauce. It’s an easy, low-carb, 30 minute weeknight dinner that everyone will love. Paleo, Whole30, and Keto too!
I am a BIG fan of Italian food, but it’s often hard to find a guilt-free dish that’s still full of flavor. That changes today with this Creamy Garlic Chicken, which is gluten free, dairy free, paleo, and Whole30.
This dish takes merely 30 minutes to prepare, but the end result is so fantastic that you can confidently serve this to your family on a Wednesday evening or special occasion.
Cooking The Chicken
For this recipe I like to buy two large chicken breast and slice them in half. This makes for thinner chicken breast so they cook faster and more evenly. You could also buy four thinly cut chicken breast.
Chicken breast do have a bad rep for being to dry or tough after being cooked, but rest assured the chicken in this recipe turns out juicy and tender.
Start by browning the chicken breast in the skillet. Saute for 4-6 minutes on each side until they are a golden brown color. Transfer the chicken to a plate, and begin making the creamy garlic sauce.
Making The Sauce
This creamy garlic sauce is super easy to make and the end result is a full-bodied flavorful compliment to the chicken.
Melt ghee over medium heat in the same skillet and saute the minced garlic for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and let it simmer in the skillet for 2-3 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken.
Return the chicken to the skillet and spoon the creamy sauce over the chicken. Serve the dish hot and garnish with fresh parsley. –Enter irresistible garlic heaven.
All The Garlic
The ingredient list below isn’t a typo, garlic is your friend with this dish and in life.
I promise the garlic isn’t overpowering at all, just make sure you caramelize the garlic before making the sauce. This removes the pungent taste to the garlic, and brings a hint of sweetness.
You can either use whole garlic cloves (for a milder sauce) or mince your garlic for this recipe. Go here for detailed tips on the correct way to peel garlic. To save time you can also buy minced garlic or pre-peeled garlic cloves too!
Garlic Chicken Additions
This Creamy Garlic Chicken is a great standalone dish, but you can enhance the flavor by adding some ingredients below; if you’re feeling adventurous.
Make with other proteins: if you don’t have chicken breast, feel free to make it with other proteins like chicken thighs, chicken tenders, pork chops, steaks, salmon, or shrimp. Be sure to adjust cooking times accordingly.
Don’t overcook the chicken: Chicken is notorious for posing a danger when under-cooked. However, chicken will still be tough if it’s overcooked. Measure temp during cooking to ensure the correct doneness.
Use fresh garlic: for the most flavor, use fresh garlic. However, if you are rushed on time feel free to use jarred minced garlic.
Buy full-fat coconut milk: coconut fats are great for you so don’t fall for the “lite” version. Full-fat coconut milk gives the sauce it’s thick and creamy texture, so don’t skimp out.
What To Serve With Creamy Garlic Chicken
This garlic chicken recipe pairs well with cooked white rice, roasted broccoli, green beans, asparagus, zucchini, gluten free pasta, or an Italian side salad.
This creamy garlic chicken skillet is made with tender seared chicken breast, and covered in a creamy, dairy-free garlic sauce. It’s an easy, low carb, 30 minute weeknight dinner that everyone will love. Paleo, Whole30, and Keto too!
Season the chicken breast on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat ghee over medium heat in skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and saute’ for 4-6 minutes on each side until cooked and golden brown. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate.
In the same skillet, over medium heat, melt ghee. Add the minced garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, lemon juice, paprika, Italian seasoning and arrowroot starch (optional) to the skillet. Whisk together. Simmer for 2-3 minutes for sauce to thicken and reduce heat to low. Return the chicken to the skillet, and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with parsley. Serve hot.
It was tough to gauge how much garlic I was supposed to put in because I use minced garlic. I would tend to think most moms would….. fresh and convenient!!
This was delicious, above and beyond expectations! Very quick and easy to make. We all loved it. My kids each had 3 helpings! This is definitely getting added to our meal rotation 🙂
This recipe has quickly become part of our regular dinner rotation. Quick, easy, and delicious. I am dairy free and my husband is not, but he does not miss the dairy in all this creaminess. Adding mushrooms and a little extra smoked paprika takes it up a notch.
This was absolutely delicious! And so easy to make. It’s definitely going in my permanent rotation. I was hesitant to add that much garlic but it’s really necessary. And it’s not at all overpowering. I made a slight mistake of using a whole can of coconut milk instead of a can but it turned out just fine. Had to add a little extra thickener is all. But the sauce is soooo tasty.
This was so good. and so easy! I am not a fan of coconut so I used almond milk and extra chick broth and it was so yummy. We are dairy free so it was nice to have something creamy! Would be amazing over rice. I will be saving this and making it again!
This recipe is so delicious! I made it with chicken thighs and served it over cauliflower rice. My husband asked for it to become a weekly dinner! I normally take the “prep time” and “cook time” in recipes with a grain of salt, but this really was an under 30 min meal, including prep time. I’m going to try it with shrimp next, and I think I’ll always serve it over cauliflower rice- I could’ve eaten bowls of it… It would be easy to make vegetarian, too.
Really good! We’re dairy free so we wanted something creamy but not overpowered by coconut milk flavor. The lemon and garlic really neutralize the coconut. I cut my chicken into bite size pieces and served it on top of basmati rice. Not bland at all, perfect amount of seasoning. Will definitely make again!
This was 5 STARS! I have one daughter that has an auto immune disorder which means I need to carefully cook. But I am a firm believer of not cooking different meals for each member of the family. And this meal was PERFECT for the dietary needs and taste buds. We served it over cauliflower rice and extra veg. Thank you so much for creating this winner. This will now go into the family meal rotation.
This was quick and easy to make and tasted pretty good, I served it over cauliflower rice. I gave it 4 stars because it was a little bland. Now that could just be my families taste buds and it could also be that my garlic bulb was on the smaller size but I ended up adding some smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt at the end of cooking to amp up the flavor. Next time I’ll add extra spices my family likes because I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the new meal recipe!
I had some chicken I needed to use tonight so I searched fpr a quick and easy recipe that would utilize what I already had in the pantry. This perfectly fit the bill and both of my children actually devoured it. I have a feeling this will be regularly added to the sinner rotation (we love garlic, so I always throw in more than the recipe states).
This Is amazing! We are paleo for the most part but have had a hard time with other milks. I used lactose free and it still tasted amazing
★★★★★
That works! Glad it tasted amazing. 🙂
Insanely good! And even better, it’s easy.
It was tough to gauge how much garlic I was supposed to put in because I use minced garlic. I would tend to think most moms would….. fresh and convenient!!
Can you substitute olive oil for the ghee?
This was delicious, above and beyond expectations! Very quick and easy to make. We all loved it. My kids each had 3 helpings! This is definitely getting added to our meal rotation 🙂
★★★★★
This recipe has quickly become part of our regular dinner rotation. Quick, easy, and delicious. I am dairy free and my husband is not, but he does not miss the dairy in all this creaminess. Adding mushrooms and a little extra smoked paprika takes it up a notch.
★★★★★
I made this tonight and it was a hit with the whole family! It was dang good, I’m stuffed, and I don’t feel a lick of guilt!
★★★★★
This was absolutely delicious! And so easy to make. It’s definitely going in my permanent rotation. I was hesitant to add that much garlic but it’s really necessary. And it’s not at all overpowering. I made a slight mistake of using a whole can of coconut milk instead of a can but it turned out just fine. Had to add a little extra thickener is all. But the sauce is soooo tasty.
★★★★★
*I meant to say I used a whole can instead of a cup
This was so good. and so easy! I am not a fan of coconut so I used almond milk and extra chick broth and it was so yummy. We are dairy free so it was nice to have something creamy! Would be amazing over rice. I will be saving this and making it again!
★★★★★
This recipe is so delicious! I made it with chicken thighs and served it over cauliflower rice. My husband asked for it to become a weekly dinner! I normally take the “prep time” and “cook time” in recipes with a grain of salt, but this really was an under 30 min meal, including prep time. I’m going to try it with shrimp next, and I think I’ll always serve it over cauliflower rice- I could’ve eaten bowls of it… It would be easy to make vegetarian, too.
★★★★★
Really good! We’re dairy free so we wanted something creamy but not overpowered by coconut milk flavor. The lemon and garlic really neutralize the coconut. I cut my chicken into bite size pieces and served it on top of basmati rice. Not bland at all, perfect amount of seasoning. Will definitely make again!
★★★★★
This was 5 STARS! I have one daughter that has an auto immune disorder which means I need to carefully cook. But I am a firm believer of not cooking different meals for each member of the family. And this meal was PERFECT for the dietary needs and taste buds. We served it over cauliflower rice and extra veg. Thank you so much for creating this winner. This will now go into the family meal rotation.
★★★★★
This was quick and easy to make and tasted pretty good, I served it over cauliflower rice. I gave it 4 stars because it was a little bland. Now that could just be my families taste buds and it could also be that my garlic bulb was on the smaller size but I ended up adding some smoked paprika, garlic powder and salt at the end of cooking to amp up the flavor. Next time I’ll add extra spices my family likes because I will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the new meal recipe!
★★★★
I had some chicken I needed to use tonight so I searched fpr a quick and easy recipe that would utilize what I already had in the pantry. This perfectly fit the bill and both of my children actually devoured it. I have a feeling this will be regularly added to the sinner rotation (we love garlic, so I always throw in more than the recipe states).
★★★★★